[onlineflyer]

why don't you start that thread?

Done: Pentax lenses that are worthy of an A* or Limited designation but are not. Good suggestion. Aslyfox.

Read more at: Pentax lenses that are worthy of an A* or Limited designation but are not - PentaxForums.com

[aslyfox]

time to admit something publicly

my wife has been very good to me

she has allowed me to obtain ( among other lenses and equipment ) :

two of the " * " lenses discussed here

SMC DA * 300mm F4 ED (IF ) SDM
HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW

as well as the prime DA Limited Lenses

SMC Pentax-DA 15mm F4 ED AL Limited
SMC Pentax-DA 21mm F3.2 Limited
SMC Pentax-DA 35mm F2.8 Macro Limited
SMC Pentax-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited
SMC Pentax-DA 70mm F2.4 Limited

her one consistent rule: " you bought it, you haul it "

[gm4life]

I have had the pleasure of using/owning the following...

DA * 55mm - yes awesome lens worthy of the Star name... Handed up/down to my pa for all he has done for me when the DFA * 50mm arrived. I consider myself a nice son! It is awesome for his pair of K3-II’s. In my dads kit...

DA * 300mm - oh heck yes... World class lens that has delivered time and time again it truly is a Star. It has performed awesome even for wildlife for me. I have yet to exercise it well on FF, but I am looking forward to it. In my kit...

DFA * 50mm - might be my favorite piece of glass ever... Turns the K1-II into a world beating camera/lens combo. This combo takes on the best from Sony, Canon and Nikon and lives up to the Star series name. In my kit...

DFA * 70-200 - lives up to the Star series as well... Sharp across the frame wide open, quick focusing and built like a tank. Again lives up to the best from Sony, Canon or Nikon when mounted on crop or the K1-II. In my kit...

FA * 400 - what an awesome lens, that I have had the pleasure of using a few times. My pa over the years has gotten some incredible photos both film (PZ1-p/ZX-5n) and digital with his K10D/K100D and now his pair of K3-II’s... It is one lens I truly lust after in his kit. If Pentax ever does a prime DFA * 400, I will be all over it! In my dads kit...

[pres589]

Get the 15 get the 15 get the 15 get it.

[aslyfox]

I'm now up to three Pentax Star lenses:

SMC Pentax-DA* 55mm F1.4 SDM

SMC DA * 300mm F4 ED (IF ) SDM

HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW

i just added the 55 purchased from a forum member via the market place

[clickclick]

I'm now up to three Pentax Star lenses:

How are you liking them? To expectation?

[aslyfox]

How are you liking them? To expectation?

I just got the third today so no chance to use it yet

the others I have been pleased with

I expect the reputation they have to make me very happy as you can see from the user reviews under " lenses " above

9.68 for the SMC Pentax-DA* 300mm F4 ED [IF] SDM

9.70 for the HD Pentax-D FA* 70-200mm F2.8 ED DC AW

and the new one 9.20 for the SMC Pentax-DA* 55mm F1.4 SDM

of course, I expect it and the others to suffer from the usual fault - Operator Error

[Sandy Hancock]

The build quality of the DA* and DFA* lenses is without peer. Colours and out of focus rendering are uniformly superb.

I have (or have had):

DA* 11-18 - almost flawless. Maybe a little prone to flare compared to the DA 15 Limited (but what isn't?)

DA* 16-50 - my brother now owns it. SDM failed, so converted to screw drive. A little too much PF at the wide end. Great event lens.

FA* 24 - slight glow wide open, which makes it surprisingly good for environmental portraits. Immaculate stopped down even slightly.

DFA* 50 - the best lens I've ever used.

DA* 50-135 - immaculate portrait zoom, and relatively tiny. My current copy's SDM failed so converted to screw drive.

DA* 55 - great portrait lens on crop. Compact and versatile on full frame with only very minor issues at the extreme corners.

DA* 60-250 - sharp across the frame from wide open. Frustrating zoom creep - it really needs a zoom lock. Slow focus and extreme focus breathing. Great landscape lens.

DFA* 70-200 - brilliant in every way, but its size and weight can't be ignored.

FA* 85 - wonderful pop and skin tones. Not quite sharp wide open, but for portraits that's not a hanging offence. Great care needed with focus. Stupid hood.

DA* 200 - only owned it for a month, as PF really bugged me. Wish I kept it to try on full frame. Great handling.

DA* 300 - incredible optics. Slow focus.

[tokyoscape]

The only star lens I have used is the DA*55. It comes to replace my most used lens, FA50 macro.

Overall rendering out of the camera:
55* is the winner, no question about it. The 50 macro is not far behind.

Flare control: 55* is a big disappointment for me. 50 macro is manageable. (I do mostly city landscape at night.)

Sharpness at f-stop I used the most:
I favor the 50 macros a bit more if looking at the sharpness alone but the overall rendering of 55* is so good. It makes everything looks good.

Starbursts:
no contest, the 50 macro is the winner. It produces the best looking 6 spike starburst IMHO.

Other:
55* has WR and it is lighter while I feel like 50 macro has faster autofocus on my K3. Yes, macros lens auto-focus faster than a start lens! 55* is infamous for its slow autofocus while 50 macro has surprisingly fast autofocus and hardly miss if it is not too dark, but I pick 55* because of the WR and its lighter weight.

[MikeyBugs95]

I don't have too much experience with, really, any lens but I absolutely love the *50-135. I'm on my second (after I tried to fix a broken gasket in the first but ended up irreversibly disassembling it) and if it completely failed tomorrow, I'd get it repaired or try to get another one. It really is a lens that I take everywhere. If a version II of the 50-135 is released, it would definitely end up on my "will definitely buy sooner rather than later" list.
This was one of my first pictures taken with the 50-135. Compared to pictures shown here, I can't even compare them, but, for me, it kind of shows why I love this lens. I think this was mostly SOOC with a few edits done.


I also have a *16-50 (my second after getting a used dud from UsedPhotoPro) and a *55. I haven't really used the 55 all that often because I find the focal length to be a little long most of the time but I prefer having a fast lens in the 50mm range. I'm also still getting used to the 16-50 and it's quirks. It's become my 'always-on' lens because of its convenience but also because it fits that way in my bag...

Honestly, I really like the Star lenses and the quality they offer. I also really appreciate the level of weather sealing they offer and, knowing me, I'm going to need it one day just on accident or out of sheer incompetence.

[aslyfox]

The build quality of the DA* and DFA* lenses is without peer. Colours and out of focus rendering are uniformly superb.

I have (or have had): . .
DA* 55 - great portrait lens on crop. Compact and versatile on full frame with only very minor issues at the extreme corners. . . .

DFA* 70-200 - brilliant in every way, but its size and weight can't be ignored.

DA* 300 - incredible optics. Slow focus.

that's pretty much been my experience with the * 70-200mm F2.8 and the *300mm

if you want to make the * 70-200mm F2.8 seem small, grab the big guy the [ non star] 150-450mm

I hope my new to me * 55mm F1.4 is as good as you say

[UncleVanya]

I shoot a k3 (apsc) and own:

DA* 16-50 (bought with know dead sdm, Converted to screw drive) I find this lens frustrating. It just isn't as lovely at 16 as the da 17-70 at 17 or the da LTD 15. It is however a good fast aperture lens overall.

DA* 50-135 (bought with supposedly bad sdm, it woke up and has worked ever since) a nearly perfect lens. I use it for portraits and landscapes and everything in that range of focal length.

DA* 60-250 (no sdm issues) this lens is sharp and makes great photos. However due to focus breathing it doesn't warrant using over the faster aperture 50-135 for portraits and while it works well as a telephoto for distant objects under about 5m your results aren't going to yield a huge gain over shorter focal length lenses like the 50-135. Even from 5-10m the gains are small from a pure angle of view / magnification perspective. However the images are excellent and the flexibility if your shooting near and far is hard to beat. Much lighter than the f2.8 zooms covering this range.

DA* 55 A recent addition. I like it but have limited experience using it so far. Seems great for portraits and no complaints for general short telephoto use.

DA* 200 (sdm works fine) my copy hasn't ever been as purple fringing as some but it is an older optical design and can produce this kind of aberation more than the slower 60-250 for example. I find it useful for a lot of things including macro work using a Canon Apo close up lens attachment.

FA* 300 Classic telephoto. Reliable and lighter than the DA* 300. Great images.

[angerdan]

I'm now up to four Pentax Star lenses:
F* 300mm F4.5
FA* 300mm F2.8
FA* 400mm F5.6
D FA* 50mm F1.4


And did shot or own these lenses:
DA* 50-135mm F2.8
FA* 80-200mm F2.8
DA* 200mm F2.8
DA* 300mm F4

[UncleVanya]

I'm now up to four Pentax Star lenses:
F* 300mm F4.5
FA* 300mm F2.8
FA* 400mm F5.6
D FA* 50mm F1.4


And did shot or own these lenses:
DA* 50-135mm F2.8
FA* 80-200mm F2.8
DA* 200mm F2.8
DA* 300mm F4

Your post reminded me I once owned the FA* 80-200 myself. I really liked the lens. It is worth noting that the DA* 200 exhibited purple fringing far more often than the FA* 80-200 even in head to head shots with the same exposure settings and lighting. That FA* was a special animal.

[Pål Jensen]

Possibly the only star lens not worth the star designation is the DA 16-50/2.8